


Win-Win

by relic_amaranth



Category: Supernatural
Genre: F/M, Fluff, Gender-neutral Reader, Kissing, M/M, Other, Romance
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-03-18
Updated: 2018-03-18
Packaged: 2019-04-04 07:59:52
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,638
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14015820
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/relic_amaranth/pseuds/relic_amaranth
Summary: You and Cas need to learn how to be a couple, so you turn it into a game.





	Win-Win

**Author's Note:**

> A/N: I feel like ‘this was supposed to be shorter’ is pretty much my life motto now ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯ Anyways; fluff! Saccharine! Soft!Cas! All the things I love, basically. Possibly similar in parts to “13 Kisses” but dissimilar enough that idc~

 

 

It’s quiet.

Normally quiet is a nice respite from whatever Sam and Dean are often up to, but right now it’s just eerie. You peek around the corner and scope out the hallway. It’s clear. It’s a long way to your destination though.

You take a deep breath. Quick and brisk, light landing on your feet– you’ve got this. You’ve snuck up on werewolves for goodness’s sake. You can get to the kitchen and put together your sandwich at the table corner with the good sightlines without any disaster.

Someone presses up against your back, wraps their hands around your stomach, and–

–presses a light kiss to your cheek.

All the flight of fight-or-flight leaves you with simmering annoyance when Castiel chuckles. “Another one for me,” he says, sounding quite pleased.

“You didn’t fly in behind me, did you?” you ask but you feel a lot less combative when he presses his face into your neck.

“That’s against the rules. And I do play fair.” He lets you go. “I’ll go mark this on the board,” he says and before you can even say something, let alone turn to face him, he’s gone. Jerk. Adorable, stupid jerk.

To be fair this, as well as most stupid things, is all Dean’s fault. It started a few weeks ago, when Dean and Sam walked in on you and Cas…well…

 

“What the hell?!”

Cas jumped back from you immediately and you sighed and rolled your eyes over to glare at the intruders. It was almost midnight and Sam and Dean weren’t even supposed to be home until tomorrow, but there they were, Dean staring in shock and Sam rubbing the back of his head in obvious discomfort. At least one of them looked sorry for the interruption.

Dean looked from you and Cas, back and forth several times, and then to Sam. “Is it April Fool’s Day?”

You scowled at him as Cas flinched further away. “We’re not anywhere _near_ April, Dean. Stop being a jerk. Seeing us kissing shouldn’t be a big shock to you.”

Dean’s overdramatic astonishment faded to a more believable…well…disbelief. Even Sam looked skeptical. “You…um, well, congratulations,” Sam said slowly. “How long have you been dating?”

This time, you shared a confused glance with Castiel. Why was he even asking? “Like, at least a month,” you said.

Cas squeezed your hand. “Thirty-four days, seven hours, and eleven minutes,” he said proudly and you couldn’t help but smile like an idiot.

Speaking of idiots. “Wow,” Dean said. “Well, yeah, congrats, I guess, but why didn’t you say anything?”

“Isn't it obvious?” Cas asked, sitting right next to you, and all you could think was ‘duh’.

“No,” Sam and Dean said in unison. Dean actually gestured at you. “I mean, come on, you were just sucking face your knees aren’t even touching!”

You looked down and, yes, okay, there was a little bit of distance (that Cas quickly closed– only so far as to make your knees touch, which made you smile) but you also weren’t ‘sucking face’. Cas was an angel who was still learning human manners and boundaries and you weren’t exactly pressing him to go farther. “Everybody goes at their own pace. And everybody else should mind their own business,” you said.

Dean put up his hands and took a few steps back. “I’m just saying. It’s been over a month and Sam and I– who hunt with you, live with you, hell, sometimes even share the same damn motel _room_ with you– had no freakin’ clue.”

You let your hand inch towards your knife and Dean finally realized that a strategic retreat was in order and ran out of the room. Sam chuckled and hefted his bag back over his shoulder. “But, seriously, we’re both happy for you guys– it’s been a long time coming,” he said.

“Thank you Sam. Good night,” you said and waited a bit after he left. You heard his door shut and you let out a sigh, eager to get back to what you were doing.

Only, Cas looked deep in thought. “What’s wrong?” you asked.

“Are we not acting as a couple should?” he asked and looked at you with nothing but concern in those bright blue eyes.

“We’re doing just fine. Every couple’s different,” you said.

He frowned, like he was unconvinced. “I don’t _mind_ getting closer to you, I just…” He shrugged helplessly. “I don’t know _how_.”

“And you’re sure you want to be closer? Because it’s okay if you don’t,” you said.

“I want to,” he said. Stubborn as he was. You resist the urge to curse out Dean in your head and instead you thought for a moment. The whiteboard caught your eye so you went up and grabbed a marker.

“Well, let’s think of ways to make it easier.”

 

You both had spent a couple of hours going over what ‘normal’ couples do before you finally (you think) had gotten through to Cas on the fact that a human hunter and an angel are never going to have a ‘normal’ relationship. It had been your idea to make it fun, and so you’ve ended up with a game. A very simple, innocent game– the goal is who can ‘steal’ the most kisses within the span of a week. And since what is a game without a reward, the winner will get to ask something of the loser (with a caveat that the loser can refuse if it makes them too uncomfortable).

The game relies a lot upon the honor system– someone who is snuck up on can’t pretend they know the other person was coming, no flying in, no vanishing– but it’s simple enough to follow and Cas seems to really like the idea, for all that he still seems awkward. Innocent kisses, apparently, make for good training wheels, and you can’t find any reason to be upset with that.

You make your lunch and go back to the library. You plop down on the couch you had to practically reorganize the library to fit. With your back against the wall, it’s hard for Cas to sneak up on you in here, at least.

“You’re losing,” Dean says

“I am n–” You glance at the whiteboard score and note Cas’s new mark. You roll your eyes. “Okay, I’m losing _now_. But I’ll get him back.”

“I bet you will.” Dean smirks. “Do you get extra points for–”

“Would you like to finish that sentence or would you like to live to see another day?”

“Just curious,” he says, but he grins, you laugh to yourself, and you both fall into comfortable silence.

You’re taking your trash back to the kitchen when you hear Sam and Castiel talking about something. You step softly and peek inside. Sam is explaining something at the counter and Cas is adding something in his deep, low voice. A grin sneaks across your face and you take your chance– you trade some stealth for speed, knowing how they both are when they’re in the zone. You get all the way up to them and plant a big, wet kiss on Cas’s cheek, making both him _and_ Sam jump.

Cas huffs in disappointment. You laugh and toss your trash. “Back to neck and neck!” you tease.

Sam rolls his eyes and takes his hand from the knife block. “This bet of yours is going to give _me_ a heart attack.”

You practically dance all the way back to the library and proudly put a new mark under your name. Dean snorts and you aim your smile at him. “Freaked out Sam too,” you say.

“Excellent.” Dean gives you a high-five. “Team Hunter all the way. You show that angel who’s boss.”

You’re definitely willing to give it your best shot.

 

Your next win comes when Cas is in a little shop, getting some ingredients for a spell. He’s standing at the counter, keeping an eye on the beaded door leading to the back and tapping his foot on the ground. He’s actually not half bad at ‘being human’ when he isn’t thinking about it too hard. He occupies his body fairly well, and you take a moment to admire him. Just a moment, though; you move past displays placed too tightly together and narrowly avoid knocking down a stand of jewelry on your way to press a light kiss to the back of his head. Granted, you mostly kiss his soft hair, but the annoyed look he gives you is sign enough of your success.

“Hey,” you say and lean in next to him. He freezes and for a moment you think you’ve gone too far too fast, but he relaxes enough to lean back into you a little.

“Enjoy your lead for the moment. I’ll get you back,” he grumbles but it’s mostly good-natured. Mostly. One thing you’ve learned about Cas is that he is mighty competitive.

“I can’t wait,” you say and stay with him.

 

Hunting monsters in daylight is bad enough. Hunting cursed objects, with ghosts attached to them, at night, with no backup is…something else. The EMP reader is like a less-accurate metal detector and you’ve already combed half the place looking for–

You turn a corner and suddenly you’re pressed up against something. For a moment you’re on the verge of a heart attack, but you realize (thankfully before you shoot) that it’s Cas, holding you, and that you have just turned a corner and literally walked into his lips. You swat his shoulder and pull back to catch your breath.

“Cas, you jerk; you scared the shit out of me!” you whisper and laugh quietly out of pure relief. And, okay, that was pretty good too.

Cas raises his eyebrows but doesn’t ask about the turn of phrase, thank goodness. Instead, he smiles smugly. “We are even again.”

“That we are,” you say and gently tug on his tie. “Don’t suppose you have time to help me track down and burn a hexed figurine?”

He leans in and you can feel his breath against your skin. It’s warm, and even though he’s closer to you than you allow most people, it’s nice. Like anyone, he _could_ hurt you. Unlike anyone, you trust him not to. “I think I’m not so busy,” he murmurs and you feel calm for the first time today.

 

You’re eating in a diner with Sam and Dean when you catch Dean’s eyes flick for just a brief, brief moment to the side. You take a leap of faith and say, “Hi Cas!”

Sam ducks his head to muffle some unholy cross of noise that has ended with him choking. Cas sits next to you, his bitter scowl a great contrast to the smile you feel covering your own face. “You gave me away,” he says resentfully. Dean rolls his eyes and slams his hand on Sam’s back.

“Such a shame,” you tease and kiss the angel’s cheek.

“That doesn’t count,” Cas is quick to say.

“I don’t need a game to want to kiss you,” you say and go back to your meal.

Cas is quiet for a moment and you look at him to see him studying you. You’re chewing so you doubt you come across as all that alluring, yet Cas slowly smiles. “Right,” he says and leans in to give you a very gentle, light kiss.

Across the table, Dean chews a too big bite, cheeks inflated like a chipmunk. “You two are disgusting.”

 

It has been…a long day. To say the least. A long week. You don’t know what’s dragging you down, specifically; it feels like everything, and you’re leaning on a morgue table over a blanketed body, just trying to keep yourself upright. You hear Cas’s wings and you wait for him to approach. He doesn’t come right away, so you turn your head.

“You okay?” you ask. You don’t look far enough to see him completely, but he walks up behind you, occupying the space without touching.

“I was going to ask you,” he says and moves closer.

“I’m fine. Just…tired,” you say. You stay as you are and Cas leans against you, not putting any weight but slotting in like he’s a part of your body that just takes off on occasion. He is…like a blanket. A semi-constant comfort.

“This is nice,” you murmur.

“Mmm.” Cas presses his head next to yours. You can hear him lick his lips. “I was…afraid to get close to you, at first,” he says lowly, barely breaking the silence. “Sometimes I didn’t even want to touch you, afraid that the power of what I feel would somehow come out of me and shatter you.” He breathes. “Still sometimes I want to hold you so close and never let go. Sometimes I want you to hold _me_ close and never let go. I swing from one extreme to the other, and it’s hard to find the place in the middle, the place where you are when you pull me in for a kiss, or a hug, or that feeling when you grip my shoulder and squeeze and I know I am here, in flesh, on earth, at this one moment in time.”

You shut your eyes and allow yourself to feel that. The air he exhales, the warmth of his body lining yours, the way his hands shift from touching your waist to wrapping around your stomach, barely alighting either way. You open your eyes, grab his hands, and wrap them firmly around you, so that he stays holding you even as you turn in his hold and wrap your own arms behind him.

“I’m not glass,” you say. “And I won't shatter you either.”

Cas’s smile is almost rueful. He licks his lips, drawing your attention, just before he leans in, his mouth breaking apart on yours. You return the force, all too eager to do more than just weather the storm.

 

“Oh– what the hell!”

You and Cas break apart for air and to shoot a dirty look at Dean, waving his arm at you like…something. You can’t really be bothered to translate Dean-ese, so you pull your hair back with one hand and sit up on Cas’s lap. He looks quite nice, laid out on the couch, hair mussed and shirt unbuttoned.

“As glad as I am to see you two…uh…getting along…” Sam coughs and you turn your head up away from your ravished (and ravishing) angel. “Don’t you think you’re overdoing it?”

“I can answer that,” Dean says sourly and gives you both a dirty look. You stifle laughter and Cas smirks. Dean rolls his eyes and looks over at the whiteboard which has long been wiped clean. He jerks his thumb at it. “So who won?”

Cas sighs. You share the sentiment. However with the way Dean is tensed up and Sam is shuffling on his feet… You smile at your friends. Something that feels a little sharp. “If you stick around for a few minutes, you’re going to find out,” you say and lean back in to kiss Cas senseless. You hear Dean and Sam scramble out of the room and out of the bunker, but you’re in no hurry to part and from the way Cas’s fingers dig into your sides, he feels the same way.

When you do break (because, unfortunately, humans do need to breathe), Cas says, “I thought you said the couch was too small?”

“Yeah, well, I also had no intention of letting them watch.” You press your nose to Cas’s. “Guess what couple has free rein of the entire bunker?”

His smirk turns to a wicked grin, and when he pulls you back down you adjust only slightly, your body fitting together perfectly with his.


End file.
